Who We Are

We are a Peruvian non-profit with a mission to build a world where nature conservation and sustainability thinking are cornerstones of a society's development and wellbeing, resulting in a healthy and prosperous Planet Earth for everyone.

Our objectives are to identify and implement long-lasting methods to conserve Peru's biological and cultural diversity while
contributing to the improvement of people's lives. We achieve this through a tried
and tested combination of projects (some established in 1997) focused on scientific research; environmental
education; green business development; collaborative engagement with local communities,
non-profits, companies, government institutions and donors; as well as skills training and team-building among the young,
advocacy and information sharing.

Join us on this good path as a volunteer, intern, thesis researcher, ecotourist, photographer, filmmaker, educator,
sponsor, or simply as an informed follower. You will come away with a new set of
skills and experiences, valuable knowledge, fabulous memories, friendships and contacts that may last a lifetime, and a strong feeling of accomplishment having contributed to conserving tropical nature and bettering lives.

Wildlife Research and Conservation

Our wildlife research and conservation teams are active throughout the year in lowland rainforest and upland cloud forest in the Amazon Basin, ranging far through forest and mixed-habitat landscapes, collecting and interpreting data on the status of wildlife and threats in order to understand how wild nature works, how nature responds to human activities, and how best to protect the most vulnerable habitats and species. Click here for an opportuity to join one of these teams as a wildlife research volunteer or intern working on the front lines of conservation

Community Engagement and Development

Conservation in a crowded world frequently requires working closely with local people. Our Community Engagement, Development and Environmental Education teams focus their efforts on native and mestizo communities and families who have requested assistance from us to solve growing environmental problems, improve education standards and sustainability, and to help them evaluate and implement green business ideas, ideas that if successful will help them provide for the future without unduly diminishing the natural environment around them. Click here to assist these teams as a volunteer or intern and get to know first hand the challenges that local people face and how they are pulling together to meet and overcome their environmental and economic problems

Photography, Film and Outreach

Getting the conservation message across to a wide audience, from local teachers, community leaders and people in government in Peru to international donors and concerned citizens throughout the world, with the aim of sharing our project outcomes, policy recommendations, and to instill a greater appreciation for wild nature and local cultures, requires us to use multiple forms of media. Our Photography, Film and Outreach team use digital photography, videography, art, music, events and social media to help spread the messages that need to go viral. Click here to assist this team as a volunteer or intern and help us lengthen our horizons and broaden our impact

Tours and Expeditions

The
wildlife, landscape and cultural heritage of Peru is second to none, and most of the world knows it. For those
interested in experiencing this country from our nature- and community-focused perspective, we have
hand-picked a selection of tours and expeditions that have positive benefits for biodiversity conservation and communities. These trips are accompanied by knowledgeable
and environmentally-aware leaders and guides, and many of which have been designed to take you a little off the beaten track, but are guaranteed to please. Profits and commissions generated from these trips are ploughed
back into our projects. Click here to find out more, and to join one of these incredible journeys

Courses and Schools

Our high school programs, for class sizes of between 10-20 students (aged 13-17), will appeal to all those wanting an immersive learning experience in a rainforest setting led by passionate educators and conservation scientists. Our courses and workshops are designed to share knowledge and skills on themes such as wildlife photography; conservation science, including project design and data analysis; bird capture, handling and banding (ringing); as well as tropical plant taxonomy.

Mapping and Geographic Information Systems

All of our teams collect geo-referenced data of one sort or another - which, following processing, gets added to our growing Geographic Information System (GIS). This GIS helps us better visualise our datasets, supplies maps that our field teams and media team can use for their jobs, and can be instrumental in planning future projects and monitoring existing ones. If you are interested in geography and how GIS can be used to interrogate data useful for conservation purposes and assist in project-planning processes, and want to gain valuable experience in the field, please contact us.

Map of Fauna Forever's wildlife research, community engagement, environmental education, and conservation sites in the Amazon Basin of Peru. Click on a marker to find out more about the site.

The Power of Video

Check out some of our educational videos featuring our volunteers and interns as presenters; camera trap footage of rainforest wildlife; and independent videos developed by some of our past interns during their stay with us. Come and help us add to this video series, part of which we call Amazon Research and Conservation TV (ARCTV). Contact us if you'd like to contribute to these video streams

Photo of the Week

Below we showcase some of the many beautiful and informative images sent in to us by our field teams, volunteers, interns, project partners and general followers from around the world, including background information to help understand where, why and how they were taken, among other interesting facts. If you would like your image to featured here please send us a low-res version and associated text for evaluation.

Sun-bathing Taricayas

by Tom Ambrose

These two herptiles are Yellow-spotted river turtles (Podocnemis unifilis), locally known in this part of SE Peru as Taricayas. They pull themselves out onto logs along the edges of rivers and lakes to sun-bathe. Their diet consists mainly of plant material, and of that mostly grass, nibbled from the sides of rivers and lakes where they live. Their population levels have been declining for years, due to over-harvesting of their eggs, which are considered a delicacy all over the Amazon, and thus are classed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. When adult, they are preyed upon by jaguars. The butterflies sitting on their noses are Dryas iulia, a common species here, and are making the most of an opportunity to drink the salty liquid from the eyes and nostrils of the turtles. Salt (Sodium and Potassium) is a scare resource in the Amazon rainforest.

The image was taken by Fauna Forever's ex-Bird Team Coordinator, Tom Ambrose, on the Las Piedras River in Madre de Dios, Peru. Tom is now a professional photographer and divides his time between the US and UK. Check out some of his other great images on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tomambrosephotography

For up-to-date photos and information about our research and conservation activities in the field, and links to interesting sources across the web concerning tropical forest and biodiversity, like us on facebook

For up-to-date photos and information about our research and conservation activities in the field, and links to interesting sources across the web concerning tropical forest and biodiversity, like us on facebook